<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0Z66IE_1E9ZV47D00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0Z66IE_1E9ZV47D00" width="1200" height="600" >BLACKSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - Finding a parking spot in Blacksburg during the quiet summer months is usually a breeze. But when thousands of Virginia Tech Hokies flock back to town, finding a place to park quickly becomes a bumper-to-bumper battle.For local residents and students, the daily scramble is a well-known headache.“You’re gonna get a parking spot rarely,” said one local driver. “Every single time we have to fight for parking.,” said another. “Pretty much wherever I’m going in Blacksburg, I come here and if it’s a two-mile walk, it’s a two-mile walk. It’s not worth driving around another 30 minutes just trying to find parking.”For the past decade, the Town of Blacksburg has searched for parking solutions to ease this exact conflict. Now, Deputy Town Manager Matt Hanratty says major changes are finally on the way.The town plans to extend evening parking enforcement during the academic year, phase out old single-space meters, and launch a new pay-by-plate mobile app that can even alert drivers when a parking spot has opened up.“It’s this balance of you have a parking issue when the students are here,” Hanratty said. “There’s a lot more demand for obvious reasons, so we can be flexible when the students are here, but also [give] the residents a break. Everyone [knows] parking is not adequate.”To further expand the parking supply, Blacksburg is partnering with local businesses to offer parking vouchers, at the end of the day, Hanratty says the overhaul comes down to pure convenience.“It’s very common [in other] cities,” Hanratty said. “Not that we’re looking to be a larger city, but it’s just a convenience for folks. At the end of the day, convenience.”Drivers will have to wait a bit longer for the system to go live, however. Officials do not plan to implement these changes until either winter break when students are away, or during the next summer break.</div></body>

Block Source: WDBJ7.com

Misinformation

Clickbait

Old or repetitive news

Explicit content

Location not relevant

BLACKSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - Finding a parking spot in Blacksburg during the quiet summer months is usually a breeze. But when thousands of Virginia Tech Hokies flock back to town, finding a place to park quickly becomes a bumper-to-bumper battle. For local residents and students, the daily scramble is a...

Blacksburg to implement parking changes

NewsBreak

BLACKSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - Finding a parking spot in Blacksburg during the quiet summer months is usually a breeze. But when thousands of Virginia Tech Hokie

Blacksburg to implement parking changes

Comments